An old vow
by Seaflyer
Summary: Childhood can affect your future in a rather effective way.
1. Prologue

Every time he thought about it, Draco shook his head and stared in front of him with an absent look in his eyes, like he was reliving something from earlier days.  
There was no way around it, the same conclusion he came to every time it crossed his mind.  
He found her and she promised, she swore it. All he had to do was too remind her. What would happen if Draco didn't make her realise he had been there all along?  
Draco fell asleep on the couch, tired of all the problems and thoughts in his head.

And he had such a good dream, better than you can ever imagine. But it ended in a nightmare. He dreamed about her.  
They were standing in a beautiful, fairy-tale-like landscape at the edge of a forest with high, green trees. At the other side, there was a river and behind it grass, as far as the eye could see and further. She told him she loved him, Draco. He could've never believed it. His hand touched her brilliant face softly and she smiled for a moment. But then her eyes turned bitter again. She couldn't do it, she said with tears in her eyes. Draco tried to wipe them away, but she had already turned around and ran away. Draco tried to follow her, but she had already disappeared between the trees. There was no chance he would ever see her again.  
What seemed like hours later in Draco's dream, he heard someone talk about her. She had suddenly died! No one understood how it could've happened; she had been such a healthy girl. But they all agreed at one point; someone must have been using magic against her. Her family and friends were clearly torn apart by her death, but Draco did not catch that anymore. The street faded in front of his eyes and everything turned black.  
That's when he woke up, shocked. So that was what would happen, she would die! He couldn't let that happen to her. Against her will or not, she had no choice, neither had he. The promise was made and could not be broken, he had to find her and tell it, otherwise they would both be dead within three weeks.

-----------------------------------------------------

Timeline: you will find out next chapter!  
Hope you'll enjoy the story =)


	2. Part 1: Chapter 1 Rescued?

OK, I know I promised you'd find out about the timeline in this chapter, but things have gone a little different than I expected. So I'll tell you about the timeline now, if you don't want to know, don't read it!

This part of the story happened in the past and it's important for the rest of the story. In part 2, Draco will be almost twenty years old, as you will also find out in this part.

Enjoy!

-------------------------------------------

Part 1: Chapter 1 Rescued?

She was eight years old. Her parents sat about six hundred feet away in the sand. Hermione was building a sand castle. The sky had a clear blue color and the sun was very bright. It was really hot on the beach. Hermione wept the sweat of her head with her hand. There was a lot of sand in her hair.

Hermione was here on a holiday in France with her parents. This was the first time she saw the Atlantic Ocean. She had been so excited about it, but now she was bored and staring across the sea, wandering what adventures could lie on the other side. She saw the rocks and the seaweed on the coastline, but there was no sign of anything interesting there.

Looking at her sand castle, Hermione concluded it was just a big failure. While she walked around it a few times, her eyes told her what her head already knew; it was just a big heap of sand. She had never been good at building sand castles. No, her cousin was much better at it. He had won a contest last year! Of course Hermione had been there. She thought her cousin had built the most beautiful sand castle that ever existed. The big, solid castle had four towers and flags on each of them. It even had windows.

Her thoughts dwell off to the other side again, across the Ocean. There was America, the land of adventures! She fantasized being an Indian-girl riding on a horse across miles of empty lands, forests, hills, to the mountains. She would run into a cowboy and fall in love with him. He would come to live with her and her tribe and love her forever.

Hermione stopped fantasizing. Her mother always said she day-dreamed too much. Not that her mother did not like it, but because of all those fantasies Hermione would grow up being too unrealistic. Her daughter should be prepared for the real world, not a fairy-tale one, or at least that's what her mother thought. Hermione did sometimes do really weird things. Like that time when she was about to be caught at the schoolyard for skipping. The teacher did not know what had happened. The yard had been completely empty, while the only way out was the way the teacher had come from. He had been sure Hermione just went in the yard, but she was nowhere to be seen.

Later, Hermione told her mother the teacher stared around the yard and then turned around, while she had been standing in the middle of it. Hermione's mother really could not figure out what had happened, but she decided not to tell the teacher. He might think Hermione lied. Since that moment, Hermione had holy respect for the rules.

Anyway, Hermione saw a beautiful seashell drifting near the coastline. She reached out her hand to get it, but her arm was two inches short. So she took one step in the water, but the shell drifted away a little further. Taking step after step to get closer to the shell, Hermione did not realise she left her parents and the coast far behind her. Because of the rock that had been in front of the place Hermione had been standing, they could not see her until she was far enough in the sea to be in danger.

Suddenly Hermione's foot got stuck in a gap. No matter how hard she tried to pull at it, somehow it would just not come free. Planning to call for her parents, Hermione turned her head to call them, but she realised she was further away from the beach than she had thought. And the waves were now becoming higher and her mouth was filled with salt water. Hermione spit it out as quickly as possible, but only more water came in. After coughing a few times, she dived under water to see if she could set her foot free. Another wave, more salt water. Hermione felt like she was drowning. This could not be happening, she thought, I'm too young to die! Kicking with her free foot, she was finally able to free it. Only now she had to swim all the way back to the beach, which was about one hundred feet. Her foot was bleeding because of the sharp edges the rocks had under water. Hermione could barely move it, let alone swim back to the beach.

Two hands grabbed her arms. A blonde-haired boy had swum all the way from the coast to her. He could not be much older than she was, about eight years old. He was a lot stronger than she was, though.

"Can you swim with one hand and one leg?" he asked. "Then I'll hold your other arm and drag you to the beach."

Not being able to open her mouth because of all the water, she nodded once. Together, they swam back to the coast, where Hermione's parents were standing. By the time they had understood Hermione was in danger, the boy had already reached her and was swimming back with her.

When they finally got back on the sand, with their feet safely on the ground, both children collapsed, exhausted. Hermione's parents ran to them and carried them about six feet further from the water, so they were safe. It took the children a while to catch their breath. Hermione's father had already picked up the first aid kit and was now taking care of Hermione's wounded foot.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Draco had not known what had got into him. He just saved a muggle from being drowned. What was he doing? But he had been watching this girl and knew there was something about her, he could sense the magic around her.

So he had saved her from the outrageous sea. If Draco had not used his magic, they would have probably both drowned. Draco looked at her face. She had brown, wild curls that now had been tamed by the salt water. Her eyes were brown, sometimes very dark, and sometimes light. It depended on the light falling on them. He still could not really grasp the fact he just saved her.

"Who are you?" a voice asked behind him. It could not have been Hermione, because she was still lying in front of Draco, watching her father treating her foot. So it must've been Hermione's mother. He turned around his head to face her.

"My name is Draco", he said, patiently. "I believe I just saved your daughter."

"I believe so, too. Thanks", her face cracked into a brilliant smile. She had the same eyes as her daughter, Draco noticed. "Her name is Hermione."

Hermione, Hermione, the name echoed trough Draco's head. There was something familiar about that name. No, it could not be. He was sure he had never met this girl before, so it must have been his imagination.

Hermione's mother suddenly grasped his hand and helped him up.

"Come on, I want you to meet her", she said, taking a perplexed Draco with her.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I'm already working on the next chapter, so it should be finished soon.

I hope you enjoy the story so far =)

PS. The title will become clear soon enough, perhaps you could try to have a guess.


	3. Part 1: Chapter 2 Secret meeting

Sorry it took me so long, little time, lots to do. Here is the next chapter anyway, enjoy!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Part 1: Chapter 2 Secret meeting

"Hello", the boy said. Hermione could hear he was a little nervous.

"Hermione, this is Draco", her mother said.

Hermione smiled to Draco. "Thanks for helping me," she whispered, anxiously.

"No problem at all, it's my living," Draco joked.

Hermione grinned. She liked this boy. "Still, thanks again."

"Would you like to walk a bit?" Draco asked. "Don't worry about her, I'll look after her", he said when he saw Hermione's mother's face. She nodded, "okay then."

Hermione walked towards Draco and together they walked a little along the beach, silent.

"How did you come so far from the shore?" Draco asked, "I mean, there must be a reason for the fact you dwell off so far. And since you don't seem like the type to get yourself in danger, I wandered why …"

"I don't really remember", Hermione said, a little shy. "It all happened so suddenly. One moment I was standing on the shore, next I was losing my grip and I almost drown, then you save me", Hermione blushed, hoping Draco didn't notice, she continued. "Which I'm very grateful for. So if there's anything I can do for you …"

"Well, there is one thing", he began, "but that's a bad idea, so forget about it, it's just okay."

"No, tell me, I want to know now! I have to repay you."

"If you're sure …"

Hermione nodded.

"Okay then, I wondered if you might want to meet me tonight again, right here."

"On this exact same spot?" They walked out of sight of her parents and Hermione was wondering if this would be a good idea. "Why?"

"I want to talk to you about some things, but it would take too long to do it now. Besides, the dark gives everything a little extra excitement and tension, don't you think so?"

"Okay then, I'll meet you here at eleven, ok?" Hermione said. "But if you're not there, I'll personally track you down and drag you here!"

Draco laughed, Hermione didn't think it was funny at all.

"Don't you understand what risk I'm taking for you? I hope you have important things to talk about, it better be worth it."

Suddenly, Draco stopped laughing. "You bet it is, it might affect the rest of your life."

If only Draco had known how right he had been back then.

So he said goodbye to Hermione and went back to his parents. His father never asked where he had been, he was only worried about being cruel to everyone around him. Luckily, Draco was able to slip past him unseen and went to his room. How was he going to prove to Hermione he really was a wizard? He could think of only one way, which would be really dangerous. It could only be done when his mother and father were sleeping, otherwise they would notice. Perhaps he should try to take his mother's wand, she would not be that angry if she discovered what Draco had done with it.

So at ten, when his parents were asleep (they went to bed early, so they could rise early), he sneaked into their bedroom and swiftly searched his mum's drawers to find a thin, wooden stick, or that is how Hermione would see it.

After he got dressed (he had to pretend being asleep for the last hour) he slipped through the back door and walked to the beach. It took him about forty minutes to get there. Since Hermione did not arrive yet, he took out the torch he had taken (some muggle stuff did come in handy when you weren't allowed to use magic yet) and lit it.

Ten minutes later he noticed someone walking towards him, another torch. As soon as Hermione saw him, she ran toward him.

"I'm so glad you're already here, I wouldn't want to be out in the dark alone too long", she sounded a little scared.

"It's okay, I'm here", he smiled at her. How could she be afraid of the dark? Didn't she notice the starts, the moon and the beauty of the unknown?

"Well, what did you want to talk about here?" Hermione asked. "I came all the way out here, so you owe me your story, or explanation if you'd rather call it that way."

"First let me show you something", Draco said, taking out his mother's wand. "Here, take this", he handed it to Hermione.

"What's this?" she asked.

"What do you think it is?"

"It seems like a wooden stick to me, carved nicely", Hermione shrugged.

"Ah, yes, that's indeed what it seems", he reached out for the wand, which Hermione gave to him. "But a wooden stick wouldn't be able to do this", while Draco said that, golden sparks came out of the wand.

Hermione's mouth fell open. "How did you do that?"

"It's not just a stick, Hermione, it's a wand", Draco grinned.

"A wand? You mean such a thing that witches and wizards use in those fairy tales?" she asked.

"Well, it's pretty much the same. It is indeed used by both wizards and witches. Though they mostly are not as old as your fairy tales tell …"

"But that means", Hermione tried to reason, "that means you're a wizard!" She couldn't hide the surprise and disbelief in her voice.

Draco nodded, "I am, but I'm not the only one. My parents can do magic, too."

Hermione didn't know what to say. It took her some time to find the right words. "But why are you showing this to me?"

"Ah, there's the interesting point of our conversation", Draco said. "I'm showing this to you, Hermione, because you're a witch!"

"Me?" Hermione laughed. "Oh, come on, you must be kidding. My parents never told me they were mages, so I think you must be wrong."

"Really?" Draco said, while he gave the wand to her again. "Try."

Somehow Hermione knew exactly what to do. She took the wand and made a little gesture with it. Beautiful red sparks lit Draco's face. It was so perfect, How come she hadn't noticed before?


	4. Part 1: Chapter 3 Promises

Part 1: Chapter 3 Promises

Lucius woke up anxious. Something was missing, but he could not immediatly see what. Slowly, he rose and looked around the room. When his eyes fell on the empty nightstand, he knew what Draco had done. His wand was missing. It was time to find his son and teach him a lesson ...

*****

"My parents and I will be leaving tomorrow", Hermione said. Her face showed nothing of the sadness she felt inside. She wanted to stay here, so she could get to know Draco more. Also, she wanted to learn more about this wizarding world he had talked about all night.

"Maybe I could come to see you sometime. I mean, if you'd like me to", Draco smiled.

"You don't even know where I live, besides, you won't be able to come to me all by yourself. Or do you know some kind of transportation magic?" She wouldn't be surprised if he did.

"No, I'm afraid not. But if you tell me where you live, I could at least try to come and find you."

Hermione shook her head. "Better not", she said. "Besides, we will meet each other again at this school, right? I mean, if I get the letter you told about ..."

"Of course you will get that letter. There's no doubt about that. Only, what if I wanted to see you earlier than in three years?" Draco asked.

Hermione didn't look at Draco, instead, she stared at the sea. "I always used to imagine I was some sort of princess", she told. "I never thought I would actually turn out to be a witch."

"We never know what we are, untill we bump our nose to it", Draco grinned.

"You know what you were since you were born", Hermione argued. "I mean, why didn't anyone tell me earlier? Then I would've known what to expect."

"Magic mostly begins to show at the age of seven, and even then most wizards and witches do not expect it in a muggle's child. Besides, it is difficult to feel the magic. But you still didn't answer my question, what if I wanted to see you earlier?"

Hermione's eyes met Draco's. "You can't. It is as simple as that. We shouldn't deny it, Draco", she placed her hands in his. "There is no way we can meet, your parents would not allow it, neither would mine."

"Then at least promise me you'll try everything to find me again when we're at Hogwarts", Draco said.

"I promise", Hermione said.

Draco held out his hand. "Take it", he said while taking his father's wand out of his pocket. "Will you do everything in your power to find me again?" Draco asked while holding Hermione's hand tightly.

"I will," Hermione said. A flash came out of the wand, twirling around both of their arms. "Draco, will you try to find me again when we're both at Hogwarts?"

"I will," Draco said. Another flash came out of the wand. The next thing he said, would change the rest of both of their lives. When he thought about it later, he concluded he must've gone insane that very moment. He couldn't even remember where the worlds came from. "Will you, from the day you turn twenty, share your life with me?"

Hermione held her breath. If she only knew how binding her promise would be, she certainly would've said no, but she didn't know ...

"I will", she said. The flash of light that came out of the wand had all the colours of the rainbow, it was a brilliant, beautiful kind of magic, Hermione thought.

"Will you do the same thing you asked me?" Hermione asked, hesistating only the slightest of moment.

"I will", and with those words, he had no other option.

Draco slowly lowered the wand. He released his grip around Hermione's hand and stared at her. What had he done? He had both given them no other option! This was absolutely the most stupid thing he had ever done. But there was no turning back. The vow was unbreakable.

*****

What had his son done? How could he spend time with that muggleborn girl? How could he show her magic? Lucius was seething while he followed the tracks in the sand. Why hadn't he noticed before? His son was in grave danger. Perhaps he should kill the girl, so she couldn't tell anyone else. Yes, that would be the best thing to do. Or so he thought, untill he saw them together ...

They were holding hands. Draco held his wand while asking that girl: "Will you, from the day you turn twenty, share your life with me?" And that girl said she would! How could he ask her that? But then the girl asked him the same question, and he said yes! No, it was impossible, Lucius was dreaming, he was sure of it. But he wasn't, and he knew. He had to stop them before they did even more stupid things. The vow was unbreakable, and he knew it. If Lucius killed the girl, his son would die at the age of twenty. What should he do?

Without even taking a second to consider, Lucius stormed to his son and the girl.

"HOW COULD YOU?" he yelled at Draco, grasping his wand out of Draco's hands. "Do you have any idea what you did to yourself?" he asked the girl.

"I made your son a promise", the girl answered. "What is so bad about that?"

"The promise you made", Lucius tried to control his voice, "is unbreakable ..." He turned back to Draco again. "Now are you happy? You are doomed! I have no choice than to erase the girl's memory, so that perhaps she will forget and the vow will be broken, though I don't have the smallest hope!"

Without paying any further attention to his son, Lucius cast the spell. _Obliviate_.

*****

Where was she? Hermione couldn't remember walking to the beach at night. The sun was already rising. Perhaps she had been sleepwalking. She had done that before. With a sigh, she stood up and tried to shake the sand out of her hair. Then she began the walk back to the house. They were leaving today. Her parents would miss her for breakfast if she didn't hurry. Only one moment she turned back to look at the place where she had awoken. She felt something had happened there, something important, only she couldn't recall ...


	5. Part 1: Ch 4 an enlighting conversation

Thanks everyone for reading this story ^^

And for reviewing, of course!

There were two things I could do: write another chapter for part 1 or continue with part 2. Since I'm not sure if part two will contain Hogwarts or not, I'd like your opinion. Note that if it will, there will only be a few shots, not the whole story …

Anyway, on with the story, for what will happen with Draco?

Part 1 Chapter 4 An enlighting conversation

A deep sigh sounded trough the room. Lucius paced up and down the living room. What was he going to do to punish Draco? He looked at his wife, who sat in a chair a little uncomfortable. When she learned what her son had done, she was shocked at first. Now, she was just worried about what Lucius might do to punish Draco.

"Don't punish him severely, Lucius, he's just a boy", Narcissa said. "He did not realize what he was doing."

"I think he did, Narcissa. Don't you know what this means?" Lucius voice was bitter. "He could have damned himself to a lifetime with that Muggle-girl."

"Be patient, Lucius, we still have many years to find a solution", Narcissa answered. "Besides, we might not even be sure it wás an Unbreakable Oath."

"Then what could it have been, according to you? I really know what I saw, Narcissa", Lucius was about to turn furious.

Meanwhile, Draco was listening at the door, trying to find out what his parents would do with him. He knew he had acted foolishly and should be punished, but he did not understand why his father had to punish Hermione in this way. After all, she was also a witch.

Then he heard his father say "that Muggle-girl". He now understood that his parents did not know Hermione was a witch. Should he tell them? Maybe not, Draco thought. Otherwise father might even get more furious, because he hates Muggleborns …

Lucius opened the door, he knew his son had been listening.

"Why don't you come in and share your ideas with us, Draco", he commanded. "You might be able to help us out with our little problem."

Draco took a seat on the couch, as far away from his father as possible. "I'd be delighted to help you out, father," he said.

"Your father and I," Narcissa began, "think you made a mistake when you showed magic to that girl. We would like to know what kind of magic you showed her and why. And we'd also like to know why you stole your father's wand."

"I thought it was your wand, mother", Draco said. "But I must have been mistaken."

"Indeed you are, son. It was your father's wand. You know you are not allowed to use magic yet. And even then, why would you want to "borrow" my wand?" Narcissa asked.

Now Draco hád to tell what happened and why he did it. So he took a deep breath and began his story.

"I met her when I was taking a walk on the beach the other day. After talking to her for a while, I discovered she was actually a witch. So I told her, but she didn't believe me and –"

"Hold on," Lucius interrupted. "You _knew _she was a witch? How did you find out?"

"I felt it", Draco said.

"You _felt _it? That's what you got yourself into trouble for, because you _felt she was a witch_?" Lucius was on the edge of his patience.

"Yes, that is what I got myself into trouble for", Draco answered with patience.

"Please go on, Draco, because I still don't understand what kind of magic you performed with her exactly", Narcissa said, glancing at Lucius to keep his mouth shut.

"It was an Unbreakable Oath", Draco said fast, now they knew …

"DIDN'T I TELL YOU THIS, NARCISSA?" Lucius shouted. "YOU HAVE BEEN INCREDIBLY STUPID, BOY!" He dragged his son out of the living room at his ears, to the garden. Lucius could barely control his temper, but after a few deep breaths he gained control of his voice again.

"Do you have any idea what you have done, boy? Do you understand why your mother and I are so angry with you?"

"I do, father. The only explanation I can give is that I was temporarily out of my mind", Draco didn't really believe this himself, but he might after telling it a few times. And it certainly wouldn't hurt if his father thought so.

"Did the girl make you do this?" Lucius asked.

Draco's eyes grew big. "No, there's no way she could've made me do that", Draco said explicit. "She didn't even know she was a witch yet."

"Because if she has, I will immediatly go back there and –"

"No father, I know you're mad, but you should be angry with me, because it is all my fault. If you kill her, I will die, too, when I turn twenty", Draco wasn't sure about this, but he had to stop his father at any cost.

"But this still doesn't solve our problem, does it, son?" Lucius said. "Perhaps you should make a suggestion. Because I feel like you deserve some punishment, don't you agree?"

"I will do anything you tell me to do, father", Draco said, fearing the worst.

"Very well," Lucius had thought of the best solution he could possibly find for this problem. "If this girl ever goes to Hogwarts, like you, you'll have to watch her. Try to find a way to get out of the Oath. And when you turn twenty and we still have not found a solution for our problem, I will personally kill her on that day."

Draco gulped. There was no way he could get out of this. "Okay, father, I will do as you say."

"Very well, then we can now go back inside and enlighten your mother about our solution." Lucius walked back inside, Draco slowly followed. What had he got himself into?

Note: you might've noticed Hermione's parents still have their memory, this will become important later on in the story.


	6. Part 2: Ch 1 A letter and a witch!

First a few notes.

This part of the story is based on Hermione's and Draco's time at Hogwarts, if you don't like to know what happens, you should skip this part. Though, I won't write about situations that happened in the books, so you might like to read them.

Second, this chapter is based on an idea from _DracoLove17. _Thanks, you really helped me out with my problem.

And last, thanks to you all for reading this story, you make me write!

Part 2: Chapter 1 A letter and a witch!

A beam of sunlight fell trough Hermione's window. She had the most curious dream, only she couldn't recall it, which was weird. Normally she always remembered her dreams when she woke up. When she came down, a letter was waiting for her on her breakfastplate. It seemed rather old-fashioned with a seal and an handwritten adress.

"Good morning," her mother said. "There was a letter for you with the mail. I wonder who send it, because it doesn't seem like a normal letter to me …"

"I don't know, mum, should I open it and read it to you?" Hermione asked.

"If you'd like to do so, please", her mother said, curiously.

Hermione opened the letter with her hand. There were a few large pieces of parchment in it. When she unfolded the first one, she began to read.

"_Dear miss Granger,_

_Congratulations! You have been invited to come to Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry –",_ Hermione paused. "This must be some kind of joke."

At that very moment, the doorbell rang.

"Who could that be?" Hermione's mother said while walking to the door. When she opened it, there was a middle-aged woman standing on the porch. She looked very normal, only the words coming out of her mouth were anything but usual.

"Good morning, mrs. Granger, my name is Ellie Pramta, I work at the Ministry of Magic."

Mrs. Granger did not know what to say, and how could she possibly? She never expected someone from the Ministry of Magic would come knocking on her door.

"I expect your daughter received a letter this morning?" Mrs. Pramta asked. "And would you mind if I come in? These matters should not be discussed on the street."

Mrs. Granger stepped aside to let the strange woman in, still speechless. Hermione came to the door to see who it was.

"Ah, you must be Hermione Granger," the woman said. "I'm Ellie Pramta, a witch from the Ministry of Magic. I am here to explain the rules to you."

"What rules and what ministry?" Hermione asked. "Which department is the Ministry of Magic? I've never heard of it before."

"No, it would surprise me if you had. Let me explain." The woman said. "Let's begin with the fact that you're a witch, Hermione."

I will skip the part where she explains everything, because it would only contain things you probably already know (otherwise, read the books again :P).

Hermione almost fell of her chair when the witch was finished with explaining. She hád to believe it, because the witch made all kinds of object float around the room. Suddenly, she saw a flash, sparks, and a face. More she couldn't recall.

As mrs. Pramta had told them, the passage to Diagon Alley was easy to find. After a few hours of shopping, Hermione and her parents finally found the shop where Hermione could buy a wand. It was called _Olivanders_. Hermione was so excited she could barely control her enthusiasm.

As they entered, a man aged mid-fifties came to the desk. He took a quick look at Hermione and her parents and clearly immediatly understood she was a muggleborn.

"Good afternoon, ladies and gentleman," the man said. "I am mr. Olivander, how can I help you today?"

"We have come here to buy our daughter a wand," mrs. Granger said. "A woman on the street told us you are the best wandmaker around."

"Indeed, it is said I am", mr. Olivander smiled at Hermione. "Come here, my dear," he said. "Let's see if we can find you a proper wand."

Hermione walked towards the man, who had a wooden stick in his hand now, and gave a small flick with it. A measuring lint appeared and started to measure her height and some of her limbs. The height from her arm to the floor, the distance from her hand to her shoulder, even the length of each of her fingers!

Hermione didn't dare to ask why she had to be measured in such a precise way, the wandmaker seemed to know what he was doing. After two claps of his hands, the lint fell on the floor.

"Yes, I now know exactly what kind of wand you need, young lady," Olivander said while walking to the end of his store, coming back with a small ox with a wand in it.

Hermione carefully picked the wand out of the book and stood there, holding it in her hands. Then she gave a light sweep with it, like mr. Olivander had done. A breaking sound rang trough the store, an old chair standing next to the entrance now had a broken leg. Hermione quickly placed the wand back in the box on the desk. That was not what she had expected to happen!

"No matter, no matter", the wandmaker said, repairing the chair with a flick of his wand. "Let's try another, shall we?" He walked to another part of the store and came back with another box.

Again Hermione tried to flick with it, this time, she had some kind of feeling. A rain of golden sparks poured from the wand. _Just like that other time_, Hermione thought. But at the very second she thought that, she wandered where the thought came from. _What other time? I've never done this before, I'm sure._

Hermione shook her head fixed on mr. Olivander, who was now telling how to take care of a wand. She would have to clean it every month, to keep it in perfect condition. She nodded. Her parents paid for the wand and they left the store. Still, Hermione kept wondering why she had that thought. _Just like that other time_, she repeated to herself. _It must be a mistake, I've never, ever done this before. _

They were finished, it was time to go back home. On september 1st, she would go to Hogwarts, she was ready now!


	7. P2 Ch2: The misunderstanding

So, time to continue with our story on Hermione and Draco. The last chapter didn't satisfy me, so I'm going to try harder this time. My head is filled with a lot of different issues, and you might notice this in my writing. I'm curious what'll come out. Enjoy!

Checked it for grammar mistakes and finished the last sentence. I hadn't noticed it suddenly disappeared :O

Thanks to Dracolove17 and Avanell for noting me ^^

* * *

Chapter 2 The misunderstanding everything began with

Have you ever experienced a day that never seems to end, boring and useless? That's at least what Hermione felt like the day before she would leave for Hogwarts. Instead of repacking her trunk at least five times, like she usually did, she now just annoyed her parents and herself by running around the house almost all day, continuously asking if it really was August 31st.

So at September 1st, Hermione could barely hold her nerves while she rose and had breakfast. She was so eager to leave she even forgot to brush her teeth! Her parents, of course, were too slow in her opinion, so Hermione tried to rush them up every time she saw them.

Perhaps it might be honest to say her parents were relieved to finally arrive at platform 9 ¾. Or perhaps they weren't, for their daughter was going to leave home for at least four months, 'till Christmas. Anyway, Hermione and her parents knew how to reach the train platform, because the witch had told them. When she ran through the wall between the platforms nine and ten, Hermione wasn't afraid at all. Unfortunately, her parents were. After what seemed an hour but was in fact only two minutes, her parents came after Hermione. Mrs. Granger seemed a little surprised to find a normal train platform behind the wall; perhaps she was expecting something more unusual?

"Isn't that the boy who rescued you from the tide three summers ago, Hermione?" Mrs. Granger asked. "It seems like him …"

Hermione searched her memories for the boy she saw standing at the other side of the platform. He had blonde hair and was wearing the black school uniform already. Hermione had decided to get changed in the train, not wanting to draw unnecessary attention to herself while being in the "muggle world". The summer was hard to recall and she couldn't remember almost drowning nor being rescued by that boy.

"I can't remember anything about that incident, mum. You'll have to tell me some other time, though, 'cause the train is about to leave", Hermione pointed at the train, which seemed to be on fire with all of that smoke coming through the pipe. She hugged both of her parents and told them goodbye.

"I'll see you at Christmas," Hermione said. "I promise I'll write you, but I'm not sure how to yet." She stepped in the train and turned around to wave at her parents. While the train began to ride, she yelled at her parents, "Bye!" and waved again and again, until they disappeared from her view.

Once on the train, Hermione didn't know what to do. Where would she sit? After all, she knew no one around here. Perhaps it was best just to go and find an empty coupe where she could sit alone until someone else came to meet her.

Hermione soon found out it would be harder than she thought to find a place to sit. All of the coupes where taken. So when she finally found one where only a slightly overweight boy was searching something under the seats, she entered.

"Good morning, I am Hermione Granger," she said when she came in. "Is this seat empty?" she asked the boy while pointing at the seat opposite of the one the boy was looking beneath.

"Yes, please take it", it sounded from beneath the seat. "I'm Neville Long bottom. It's nice to meet you, Hermione." The boy had turned around his face to see the girl enter.

"I don't suppose, by any chance, you came across a toad somewhere?" Neville asked. "I lost mine, you see."

"No, I'm sorry, I didn't see it", Hermione said. The boy seemed so desperate to find his toad the offered to help find it.

When they had searched the whole coupe, there still was no trace of the toad, so they decided to split up and search the train, meanwhile asking everyone they came across. After about half an hour, Hermione entered a coupe where the blonde boy she saw earlier on the platform was sitting with some friends.

"Good afternoon", Hermione began. "I don't suppose –"

"No, you don't suppose, you're right. Do we look like people who can help you?" the boy next to the blonde one said. "Perhaps you should just leave us alone again."

The blonde boy raised his hand to the boy next to him to make clear he should keep his mouth shut. "Please finish your question. Don't mind Gayle here, he's just a little rude to people."

His voice sounds familiar, Hermione thought. But that was impossible, since she had never met him before. It was scary how often she thought things to be impossible lately!

"It's okay", Hermione said. "I wanted to ask if any of you might've seen a toad around here. A boy lost his."

"I'm sorry we can't help you with that. None of us has come across a toad, but we'll let you know when we come across one", the boy said. "I'm Draco, by the way, Draco Malfoy." He held out his hand for Hermione to shake it.

"I'm Hermione", Hermione said. "Hermione Granger." She thought it would be rude not to shake his hand, but she did not entirely trust this boy, so she ignored the hand. It was something in his voice, in the way he looked at her. She couldn't figure out what it was exactly, but she'd make sure to find out as soon as possible. "I think we will see each other again soon, it was nice meeting you." Then Hermione turned around and walked away. There was no point lingering here any longer, since they hadn't seen the toad she was looking for.

Draco was disappointed, but that swiftly turned to anger when he realized she did not shake his hand on purpose. How could he be friendly to her? He hadn't seen Hermione in three years and now there she was, stepping into his coupe without being invited. She changed in the past years, but Draco could still easily recognize her, since he had dreamed about her at least once a week the past few months. The thought he would see her again was confusing. Hermione clearly didn't remember him at all, but she also seemed to dislike him. How was that possible? Had she really forgotten everything that had happened? He couldn't imagine that, but there was no other explanation. That also meant she didn't remember anything about the vow …

When Hermione left the coupe, Draco was already planning how he'd make sure she'd like him again. He didn't even know why he would want that, for Hermione really didn't seem to like him at all!


	8. Part 2: Chapter 3 Bad dreams?

Wow, thanks everyone for reviewing and reading this story. Please keep reading, because the best part still has to come (or at least I think so …)  
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Part 2: Chapter 3 Bad dreams?

Sleep wouldn't come to Draco this night. He kept thinking about the Ceremony earlier today. Why hadn't he considered this would happen? His pillow was the victim of his rage; he kept hitting it. Hermione was placed in a different house, in Gryffindor of all houses! Why not Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff? That would at least have made it easier to get in touch. With him being placed in Slytherin he knew any positive contact with any Gryffindor was far more than just unappreciated. Slyterhins and Gryffindors had hated each other for centuries; he could lose his reputation! Draco bit his lip and hit his pillow again. What could he possibly do?

There now was only one chance to get in touch with Hermione; during classes he would have to try to catch her attention without anyone else taking note. That would be difficult, but Draco was willing to try for Hermione. He still didn't know why he liked her so much, but he just had to get her to like him!

Draco fell asleep after hours of thinking, still not completely able to make a solid plan …

_He stood in the middle of a circle surrounded by candles. The waves gently hit the sea coast. Bright stars lit the evening sky. There she was, sitting opposite of him, Hermione. Her lips didn't move, but he still knew it was Hermione's voice. It came from all around him, like she was in his head._

"_Why can't I remember you?  
No matter how hard I try,  
Somehow my memory is blocked  
If I could only recall,  
Perhaps I would understand why  
You love me."_

Hermione's eyes opened. She was breathing rapidly. What had happened? When she looked around, she remembered where she was; at Hogwarts, in her bed. But where had that dream come from? What had she actually dreamed exactly? There where candles and she had seen someone, but she couldn't recall the face that had looked at her in her dream just a minute earlier. She sighed and turned on her side, trying to fall asleep again.

But there were too many thoughts raging trough her head. Those boys she met today, for instance. One of them had a name everyone in the wizarding world knew; Harry Potter. But Hermione did not really care about that. She did like Harry, but Ron Weasley was a jerk. Unfortunately, he was sorted into the same house as Hermione. And then there was Draco Malfoy. He had been sorted into Slytherin. Of course, only the vicious people ended up there. She had been right not to trust him! The only problem was she felt like something was slipping away from her thoughts every time she saw him. It would be best to find out as much as possible about him. Not by personally becoming friends with him of course, but just by asking around a little, she might discover who Draco Malfoy actually was. She'd begin in the library tomorrow after her first classes! Comforted by that thought, Hermione fell asleep.

The first week passed until Hermione remembered the promise she made to herself to discover the truth about Draco Malfoy. Since it was Sunday, Hermione had all day to spend on her research. But first she'd have to go downstairs for breakfast. So after she got dressed, she went down the stairs. Ron Weasley was sitting in the common room, talking to Harry Potter. Without taking any further notice, she went to the Great Hall.

On her way, she literally bumped into Draco Malfoy and Hermione fell on the floor. He stared at her like you'd stare at something that has been troubling you for years. But then, Hermione didn't know about her past with Draco. So obviously she didn't understand why Draco was doing this.

"I'm sorry," Hermione said as she was lying on the floor. "Please forgive me."

Somehow, Draco's face suddenly turned into a bright smile and he helped her up.

"Apology accepted", Draco grinned. "If you'll excuse me now, I have lots of things to do." And away he was, just as sudden as he had come.

Hermione was confused. She didn't really understand what had just happened. It was about time she'd find out a little more about this boy. Actually, she was so curious she skipped breakfast (or actually forgot) and immediately went to the library. There, she took a few books about wizard families from the shelves to see if the name Malfoy was in there somewhere.

After an hour of intensive search, she finally found a family tree of ancient wizard families with Draco's name in it. Hermione was amazed he seemed to be connected to the Weasleys. But that was something not quite as interesting as the story the book told about Draco's family.

_The Malfoys are an ancient wizard family. The first member of their family was Marcus Lucius Malfoy, born in 1712. The family is one of the few families that can still say they are so called "Purebloods". The Malfoy family takes a great deal of interest in this fact. They are proud of it._

The story also told the story of Marcus Lucius. Hermione read it, but after what she had just seen of Draco Malfoy, she didn't know if he really looked like his ancestor. After spending the whole day in the library, the story still was the only thing she had found. Perhaps she should have to get to know Draco Malfoy after all …

After a few days asking around, Hermione had gained the following details about Draco Malfoy: he was eleven years old, his father was very obsessive with the whole "Pureblood"-concept and he lived in a big Manor somewhere in the west. It still wasn't enough to figure out anything about his personality. Still, she was quite satisfied with the information she had now. Since most sons looked like their fathers, she decided not to get involved with this Draco for now, until he would give Hermione reasons to trust him!

* * *

That was chapter three. The next one will take place a few years after this one. I hope you enjoyed it. I'll be updating ASAP. PS. Next chapter will be about Draco ^^


End file.
